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Lincoln Super Regional: No. 13 Oklahoma State at No. 4 Nebraska

Game 1: Thursday, May 21 at 9:00 PM ET on ESPN2

Game 2: Friday, May 22 at 5:00 PM ET on ESPN2

Game 3 (if necessary): Saturday, May 23 at 5:00 PM ET on ESPN

How they got here

Nebraska scored seven runs total across three regional games and won them all. The Huskers beat South Dakota 4-1, blanked Grand Canyon 2-0, then closed out a rematch with GCU 1-0 on a Hannah Camenzind solo home run in the first inning. The pitching allowed one run across three games. The Huskers are on a program record 24 straight wins.

Oklahoma State scored 34 runs in three regional games. The Cowgirls run-ruled Eastern Illinois 16-0, beat Stanford 7-2, then closed it 11-5 in a rematch behind Claire Timm's grand slam and Amanda Hasler's 100th career RBI two-run shot. OSU had lost twice to Stanford in February before this weekend.

Resume comparison

Nebraska enters at 49-6, 23-1 in Big Ten play. The Huskers won the Big Ten regular season and Big Ten tournament titles, beating UCLA in the tournament final. They are hosting a super regional for the first time in program history.

Oklahoma State enters at 41-15. The Cowgirls split their two regular season meetings with Nebraska in February, with both decided by one run. A third game was canceled by weather.

Nebraska strengths

The pitching is genuinely elite. Freshman Alexis Jensen is 24-2 with 210 strikeouts, tying Nebraska first year records for wins and strikeouts. Senior Jordy Frahm (the former Jordy Bahl who led Oklahoma to the 2023 national title before transferring) struck out 16 in the 2-0 win over Grand Canyon and 21 across the regional. She matched the Big Ten single season save record with 12. Together they allowed one run in 21 regional innings.

The Huskers know how to win one run games. Coach Rhonda Revelle has built her team's identity around exactly that. Bowlin Stadium will be packed and loud.

Nebraska weaknesses

The offense is the question. Nebraska scored seven runs in three regional games and homered only once. That is a tough way to win two of three against a team that just hung 34 runs.

Oklahoma State strengths

The bats are the story. OSU has 67 home runs on the season and just hit them in bunches in Stillwater. Timm hit a grand slam in the clincher, Hasler hit her 100th career RBI homer. Karli Godwin, Rosie Davis, and Tia Warsop all homered in the Saturday win over Stanford.

Ace Ruby Meylan is 29-7 and went the distance in the regional opener. She is an Omaha native and from Skutt Catholic High School, returning home for this series. She has already pitched in one run games against Nebraska this year.

Oklahoma State weaknesses

Pitching depth behind Meylan is thinner than the Cornhuskers' rotation. The Cowgirls have given up five or more runs 15 times this year.

Prediction

Oklahoma State in three. Nebraska's pitching is real, but they have not seen a power lineup like this in a month and the bats have been quiet enough that one bad inning could decide a game. OSU has already proven they can hang with the Huskers in one run games. OSU steals game one 5-3 behind a Timm or Hasler home run.

Nebraska wins game two 2-1 behind Jensen. Game three Meylan and the Cowgirl bats finish what they started.

OSU 6-4 in the decider.

Norman Super Regional: Mississippi State at No. 3 Oklahoma

Game 1: Friday, May 22 at 1:00 PM ET on ESPN2

Game 2: Saturday, May 23 at 1:00 PM ET on ESPN

Game 3 (if necessary): Sunday, May 24

How they got here

Oklahoma was the most dominant host team of the regional round. The Sooners opened with an 11-0 five inning run rule over Binghamton, blanked Kansas 9-0, then closed it 8-1 over Michigan. They scored 28 runs and allowed one across three games. Kendall Wells hit her 37th home run of the season in the opener, an NCAA freshman single season record.

Mississippi State took the harder path as a regional No. 2 seed in Eugene. The unseeded Bulldogs walked off Saint Mary's 3-2 in eight innings, then Alyssa Faircloth threw a no-hitter to take down No. 14 national seed Oregon 4-0, then closed with a 5-0 win over Saint Mary's where Faircloth struck out 14, setting the NCAA record for most strikeouts in a single regional game.

Resume comparison

Oklahoma enters at 51-8, 18-3 in SEC play and SEC regular season champions for the second straight year. The Sooners have made every super regional since 2009 (16 consecutive, the longest active streak in NCAA Division I) and every WCWS since 2015. They lead the nation in batting average at .389. Patty Gasso has eight national titles.

Mississippi State enters at 41-19, 9-15 in SEC play and 10th in the conference standings. The Bulldogs ranked second nationally in team ERA at 2.24 but ranked 213th in batting average at .274. They are making the program's 20th NCAA tournament appearance and their second super regional ever, the first since 2022.

Oklahoma strengths

The lineup is the deepest in the country. Freshman catcher Kendall Wells has 37 home runs, an NCAA freshman single season record. She is a USA Softball top 10 Player of the Year finalist and the SEC Freshman of the Year. Sophomore right fielder Ella Parker and Gabbie Garcia have also hit 20 plus home runs. Seven Sooners have double digit home runs. Kai Minor is a USA Softball top 25 finalist as well.

Sophomores Audrey Lowry (22-3, 2.70 ERA) and Miali Guachino (14-2, 3.09 ERA) have combined for a 35-5 record. Freshman Berkley Zache has a 2.27 ERA in 12 appearances. Gasso and pitching coach Jennifer Rocha have intentionally rotated pitchers throughout the year to keep Lowry and Guachino fresh.

Home field at Love's Field is one of the better atmospheres in college softball.

Oklahoma weaknesses

The pitching has not been elite all year by Oklahoma standards. Lowry's 2.70 ERA is good, not great. If Faircloth pitches like she did in Eugene, the Sooners could be looking at a 1-0 or 2-1 type game where they need a clutch swing.

Mississippi State strengths

Faircloth is the headline. The transfer is 16-7 with a 2.28 ERA, 261 strikeouts in 169 innings, 13 complete games, and four saves. She is the SEC Newcomer of the Year and just authored one of the most dominant regional weekends in NCAA tournament history with a no-hitter and a record 14 strikeout shutout.

Peja Goold is the co-ace. The transfer is 15-10 with a 2.12 ERA, 178 strikeouts in 148 innings, 12 complete games, and three saves. She was drafted by the Oklahoma City Spark in the AUSL College Draft.

Nadia Barbary, Kiarra Sells, and Morgan Stiles are the offensive engine. Sells is hitting .359 with 14 home runs, Barbary leads with 37 RBIs.

Mississippi State weaknesses

The bats are the issue. State scored just 12 runs in three regional games and averaged 2.81 runs per game in SEC play. They are walking into Norman to face a lineup that hung 28 runs in the same span. State has to win 2-1 type games. There is no margin.

Prediction

Oklahoma in three. Faircloth steals game one is a real possibility. State has the pitching duo to make this competitive. But Oklahoma's lineup eventually wakes up. Faircloth wins game one 2-1. Oklahoma blasts open game two against Goold behind Wells and Parker. Lowry takes the deciding game 5-2.

Oklahoma to the WCWS for the 16th consecutive year.

Austin Super Regional: Arizona State at No. 2 Texas

Game 1: Friday, May 22 at 9:00 PM ET on ESPN2 Game 2: Saturday, May 23 at 8:00 PM ET on ESPN Game 3 (if necessary): Sunday, May 24

How they got here

Texas swept Austin. The Longhorns opened with a 9-1 run rule over Wagner in five innings, handled Wisconsin 9-0 in six, then closed with a 7-0 shutout of Baylor where Teagan Kavan threw a three hit complete game and the lineup hit four home runs, two from Katie Stewart. Arizona State was the story of the regional round. The No. 2 seed in the College Station regional hosted by No. 15 national seed Texas A&M, ASU beat McNeese 8-0, stunned the host school 4-3 in the winner's bracket Saturday, then run ruled the Aggies 9-1 in the regional final behind Brooklyn Ulrich's walk off grand slam.

Resume comparison

Texas enters at 45-10. The defending national champions won the SEC tournament with a 7-1 win over Alabama in the final as the No. 4 seed in that tournament. Mike White has now advanced to 16 consecutive super regionals, tying Patty Gasso for the longest streak by a head coach in NCAA history.

Arizona State enters at 44-16. The Sun Devils entered the Big 12 tournament as the No. 6 seed and ran through Arizona, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech to win it, becoming the first team in Big 12 history to knock off the top three seeds of the conference tournament en route to a championship. They beat NiJaree Canady to win that title. They have wins this season over multiple ranked opponents and arrive in Austin on the kind of run that defines deep postseason teams.

Texas strengths

Teagan Kavan is the engine. The junior right hander is 24-4 with a 2.55 ERA and 165 strikeouts. She is the reigning WCWS Most Outstanding Player and has five complete game shutouts this season including back to back in regionals.

The lineup is loaded. Katie Stewart is the SEC Player of the Year and a top three USA Softball Player of the Year finalist, slashing .468/.590/1.087 with a program record 27 home runs and 61 RBIs this season. Senior catcher Reese Atwood holds the program career home run record at 63 plus, is a two-time USA Softball top 25 finalist, and is the 2025 NFCA Catcher of the Year. Kayden Henry is hitting .414 with six home runs from the leadoff spot. The Longhorns are 20-10 against RPI Quad 1 teams, the most Quad 1 wins of any team in the country.

Home field at McCombs with the experience of running this exact gauntlet a year ago to a national title is real.

Texas weaknesses

The April lull is the warning. Texas lost back to back series to Alabama and Oklahoma in conference play and went 7-9 in a 16 game stretch before snapping out of it. Pitching depth behind Kavan is the second concern, and a bigger one than the seeding suggests. If Kavan throws 130 pitches in game one, the back end of the staff has not proven it can shut down a top tier lineup. ASU has already beaten Canady this month. They have seen and solved this level of pitching.

Arizona State strengths

Senior right hander Kenzie Brown is the arm that makes ASU a real threat. She is 17-6 on the season with three earned runs allowed in her last 24 innings pitched. She threw a 125 pitch, two hit complete game shutout of Texas Tech in the Big 12 final, then carried ASU through the College Station regional. Her 11.6 strikeouts per seven innings in 2025 ranked second in the nation. She is built for exactly this moment and gives ASU a legitimate game one starter against Kavan.

The lineup is real. Tanya Windle homered off both Big 12 Co-Pitchers of the Year (Oklahoma State's Ruby Meylan and Canady) in less than 12 hours during the Big 12 tournament. Brooklyn Ulrich is the redshirt senior shortstop who walked off Texas A&M with a grand slam in the regional final. Kennedy Powell, Yannixa Acuna, Emma Schepp, and Kaylee Pond round out a middle of the order that any team in the country has to game plan around. ASU put up 12 hits in the regional clincher. ASU has the look of a team peaking at exactly the right moment.

Arizona State weaknesses

The pitching staff is thin behind Brown. ASU has given up six or more runs multiple times this year, and if Brown gets stretched in game one, the depth behind her has not been tested by a Texas-level lineup. Texas Tech also swept the Sun Devils in their regular season series in late April, which is the most recent regular season look anyone got at this team.

The matchup that decides it

Game two. Kavan and Brown is a real pitching duel matchup in the opener and it can go either way. If ASU steals game one, game two flips into the matchup ASU wants because the Texas back end of the rotation has not been tested by a hot lineup. If Texas wins game one, ASU has to win twice on the road and that becomes a much taller ask.

Prediction

Arizona State in three. ASU has the better recent resume against elite competition, the better Big 12 tournament run that included beating the best pitcher in the sport, and a senior ace in Brown who has been the most efficient pitcher in college softball over the last month.

Texas is the more talented team on paper and at home, but the gap between this Texas team and the team that won the title last year is real. Brown wins game one 2-1 in a duel. ASU bats blow open game two 7-3 against the Texas number two. Game three Kavan is on short rest and ASU pushes across late behind Ulrich or Powell.

ASU 4, Texas 3 in the deciding game. Upset of the round.

Tuscaloosa Super Regional: No. 16 LSU at No. 1 Alabama

Game 1: Friday, May 22 at 7:00 PM ET on ESPN2 Game 2: Saturday, May 23 at 7:00 PM ET on ESPN2 Game 3 (if necessary): Sunday, May 24 How they got here

Alabama swept Tuscaloosa. The Tide opened with an 8-0 five inning win over USC Upstate, handled Belmont 3-0, then closed it 9-0 over USC Upstate. Three different pitchers got the three starts and all three threw complete game shutouts.

LSU also went 3-0 in Baton Rouge with wins over Akron 8-0, then Virginia Tech twice by 8-0 and 7-2. Jayden Heavener tossed a no-hitter against Akron in the opener.

Resume comparison

Alabama enters at 50-7, 19-5 in SEC play, second place. The Tide finished one game behind Oklahoma in the SEC regular season standings and lost to Texas in the SEC tournament final.

LSU enters at 43-17, 12-12 in SEC play, eighth seed in the SEC tournament. The Tigers earned the final national host bid at No. 16. These two SEC programs did not face each other in the regular season because of the unbalanced 16 game conference schedule.

Alabama strengths

Jocelyn Briski is 21-3 with a 1.45 ERA and 175 strikeouts. She is the SEC Pitcher of the Year and a top three USA Softball Player of the Year finalist. Her 9.21 strikeout to walk ratio is second nationally. Freshman Vic Moten is 20-4 with a 1.66 ERA and has been the revelation. Kaitlyn Pallozzi and Alea Johnson are functional fourth and fifth options Murphy actually trusts in big spots.

The lineup is built around Brooke Wells and Alexis Pupillo, who have combined for 40 home runs, 123 RBIs, and 91 runs scored. Audrey Vandagriff is on a tear with three home runs and six RBIs in her last six games. Freshman Jena Young has been a sturdy leadoff hitter.

Alabama weaknesses

The Tide were swept by Texas in the SEC final and have shown occasional vulnerability against elite pitching. None of that matters this weekend.

LSU strengths

Senior outfielder Jalia Lassiter is the catalyst and the team captain. She bats leadoff and has started every game this year, leading LSU with a .353 batting average, 60 hits, 59 runs scored, 13 doubles, eight home runs, and 10 stolen bases. She is a four time NFCA All-Region honoree and a 2026 All-SEC Second Team selection. First baseman Kylee Edwards is hitting .344 with 10 home runs and made the All-SEC First Team. Sierra Daniel rounds out the .300 hitters at .340.

The pitching has been steady. Jayden Heavener is 12-8 with a 2.88 ERA, 109 strikeouts, and tossed a no-hitter in the regional opener, her second straight no-hitter season. Paytn Monticelli has gone 5-0 with a 0.33 ERA over her last five appearances. Cece Cellura is 8-5 with a 3.32 ERA and the fewest walks allowed by any SEC pitcher with 90 plus innings.

LSU weaknesses

This is a thin roster trying to win a series against the deepest team in the country. The team is hitting .272 in SEC play, last in the conference. Heavener has been excellent at times but inconsistent. Lassiter is brilliant but she is hitting at the top of the order, which means there is a lot to do behind her if Alabama pitches around her.

The matchup that decides it

Game one. If LSU gets Briski into trouble early and Heavener throws a gem, the series gets interesting. If Briski goes seven and Lassiter is the only LSU bat that produces, this thing is essentially over by Friday night.

Prediction

Alabama in two. Briski wins game one 4-0 or 5-1. Moten wins game two by a similar score. Alabama is the most complete team in the field and walks comfortably to the WCWS as the title favorite.

Gainesville Super Regional: No. 6 Florida vs. No. 11 Texas Tech

Game 1: Friday, May 22 at 11:00 AM ET on ESPN2

Game 2: Saturday, May 23 at 12:30 PM ET on ABC

Game 3 (if necessary): Sunday, May 24

All three games in Gainesville. Texas Tech is on the road for the entire series.

How they got here

Florida pasted Florida A&M and Georgia Tech in the first two games of its regional, then closed out the Yellow Jackets 5-2 in the final. The Gators scored 25 runs in the regional and allowed two.

Texas Tech took the scenic route. The Red Raiders handled Marist, pulled off the largest comeback in tournament history by erasing an eight run deficit against Ole Miss to win 10-9 in extra innings, then buried Ole Miss 14-2 in the final. Tech scored 34 runs in three regional games.

Resume comparison

Florida enters at 51-10, 17-7 in SEC play, third place. The Gators are 28-3 at home at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.

Texas Tech enters at 55-6. The Red Raiders won the Big 12 regular season title outright for the second straight year. Tech has the Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Year in NiJaree Canady and the Big 12 Coach of the Year in Gerry Glasco. Tech lost in the Big 12 tournament final to Arizona State.

Texas Tech strengths

Canady is the headline. She is 22-5 with a 1.24 ERA, sixth nationally, and a .466 OPS allowed, fifth nationally. UCLA transfer Kaitlyn Terry is 22-1 with a 1.30 ERA and lets Tech keep Canady fresh. The two ace setup is the entire ballgame in a series like this. Florida has Keagan Rothrock and nothing else they trust in big spots. Tech has two pitchers with sub 1.30 ERAs.

The bats are loaded with transfer portal talent. Florida transfer Mia Williams has 22 home runs and a 1.448 OPS. Southern Illinois transfer Jackie Lis has 17 home runs and a 1.493 OPS. Center fielder Mihyia Davis has 34 stolen bases. Terry has 10 home runs of her own with a 1.356 OPS. Tech is 10-10 against top 16 seeds with a plus-35 run differential over the last month.

Texas Tech weaknesses

The eight run deficit against a No. 14 seed in the first Ole Miss game is a red flag. Canady's walk and home run rates are both up from last season, though opponents are batting only .142 against her. Tech got shut out by Arizona State in the Big 12 final and has also been shut out by Arizona, Utah, and Texas State this year.

Florida strengths

The Gators are built around an elite lineup. Taylor Shumaker is hitting .458 with 16 home runs, 17 doubles, and a team leading 81 hits, fourth in the country. Jocelyn Erickson is hitting .413 with 19 home runs and a team-high 67 RBIs. Both are USA Softball top 25 Player of the Year finalists. Senior Kenleigh Cahalan is the senior anchor. Florida has hit 100 home runs as a team, the fifth time in program history.

Rothrock is 25-5 with a 2.28 ERA and 156 strikeouts. She is durable, threw a no-hitter at South Carolina on April 10, and is one of the most experienced pitchers in the field. Home field matters in a single site best of three.

Florida weaknesses

The pitching depth issue is the single biggest factor in the series. Behind Rothrock, Florida has used a committee of Ava Brown, Leah Stevens, Katelynn Oxley, and Olivia Miller, none of whom project as a reliable answer against a top tier lineup.

Florida also has not seen a pitcher remotely like Canady in postseason play. Florida A&M and Georgia Tech are not preparation for what Friday morning will look like.

The matchup that decides it

Game two. Canady and Rothrock are starting game one and that is a coin flip with two of the better arms in the country. Game two is where the series gets decided. Florida has to figure out how to win without their ace, and Tech sends Terry against a Florida second option that has not been trusted in big moments all year.

Prediction

Texas Tech in three. The pitching depth gap is the deciding factor. Canady and Rothrock split a low scoring game one. Terry beats Florida's number two in game two. Game three becomes winner take all with both aces on short rest, and the edge goes to the best player on the field. Tech has the better pitching, the better record, the conference title hardware, and the experience of going to a WCWS final last year.

Tech wins it in three.